Fabrication of optical cavities with femtosecond laser pulses

Jintian Lin, Jiangxin Song, Jialei Tang, Wei Fang, Koji Sugioka, Ya Cheng

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

We report on fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) high-quality (Q) whispering-gallery-mode microcavities by femtosecond laser micromachining. The main fabrication procedures include the formation of on-chip freestanding microdisk through selective material removal by femtosecond laser pulses, followed by surface smoothing processes (CO2 laser reflow for amorphous glass and focused ion beam (FIB) sidewall milling for crystalline materials) to improve the Q factors. Fused silica microcavities with 3D geometries are demonstrated with Q factors exceeding 106. A microcavity laser based on Nd:glass has been fabricated, showing a threshold as low as 69μW via free space continuous-wave optical excitation at the room temperature. CaF 2 crystalline microcavities with Q factor of ∼4.2×10 4 have also been demonstrated. This technique allows us to fabricate 3D high-Q microcavities in various transparent materials such as glass and crystals, which will benefit a broad spectrum of applications such as nonlinear optics, quantum optics, and bio-sensing.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationLaser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control XVI
PublisherSPIE
ISBN (Print)9780819498731
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes
EventLaser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control XVI - San Francisco, CA, United States
Duration: 3 Feb 20146 Feb 2014

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume8960
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Conference

ConferenceLaser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control XVI
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Francisco, CA
Period3/02/146/02/14

Keywords

  • crystal
  • direct writing
  • femtosecond laser
  • glass
  • microcavity
  • three dimensional

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